Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire, déanaim comhbhrón le Niamh. Is olc an scéal atá luaite agus soiléirithe ag an Teachta inniu. Níl a fhios agam féin faoi chás pearsanta Niamh ach níl aon amhras ach gur scéal uafásach ar fad atá ann. The Deputy's description and presentation of Niamh's horrific and traumatic journey through the emergency department in Galway is shocking. I do not have details of the individual case but, clearly, Niamh went through an extraordinarily traumatic and horrific journey from arrival at the emergency department through subsequent developments and treatment.

On emergency departments more generally, I am not going to go through all of the statistics, although I have plenty of them. I will make two points. The organisation of trauma and emergency departments is fundamental to this issue. All-of-hospital buy-in with a multidisciplinary presence in emergency departments is key, as is the proper rostering of emergency departments to ensure consultant presence in our emergency departments over extended times. The public-only consultant contract we have supported and financed is making a difference in that respect.

People talk about the embargo. I have to say to the HSE and everybody else that I am mystified by the embargo because 28,000 extra people have been recruited into our health service since 2020. There comes a time when you have to look at other factors. What is happening on the ground? What is happening in the organisation of the hospital? Parallel to that is the need to enhance community-based interventions and care, which is happening. The enhanced community care programme has been expanded quite dramatically. It is quite significant. It is the same with the primary care sector. What I am saying is the emergency department issue is about more than just recruitment. A multifactorial approach has to be taken to dealing with the issues in emergency departments. The numbers of consultant and nursing and midwifery appointments and the numbers more generally in emergency departments have increased. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, is also involved because the quality of treatment is a key component of this as well.

I accept the story the Deputy has told in respect of Niamh but it raises more issues than just resources and the embargo because the numbers recruited have increased substantially. That is a fact. No one can dispute the fact that, in every individual hospital in this country, numbers have increased. There is no embargo on recruiting consultants and, within that employment control procedure, there is room for the recruitment of nurses and other clinicians. Of the 28,000 staff I mentioned, 9,614 are nurses and midwives, 4,240 are health and care professionals and 3,000 are doctors and dentists. These are all additional to what we had in 2020. It is about reducing the numbers on trolleys and the pressure on emergency departments and hospitals but it also has to be about reform of how we manage patients from the beginning of primary care, through to the community and the acute hospital setting.

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